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Coroner IDs 2 women killed in Shrewsbury Township fire

Written by
Eileen Joyce and Mike Argento/The York Daily Record
|
Dec 8, 2017 5:34 AM

A Pennsylvania State Fire Marshal investigates the scene of a fatal fire in Shrewsbury Township this morning. (Photo: Jason Plotkin, York Daily Record)

(Shrewsbury Township) -- Two women who were killed in a fire earlier in the morning were identified Friday afternoon.

Brenda Neal, 47, of 4000 block of Hunter Road, Hampstead, Maryland, and Melody Waltermeyer, 58, of the Foundry Drive residence where the fire broke out, died from carbon monoxide toxicity due to a structure fire with entrapment, according to the York County Coroner's office.

Both women went back inside the home to rescue pets, according to Tony Myers, chief of the Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company.

The fire was reported at 1:41 a.m. at a home on the first block of Foundry Road in Shrewsbury Township.

Police arrived on the scene first and found a woman outside the home with burns on her face, Myers said. Two other women later identified as Neal and Waltermeyer had initially left the home, but went back inside to rescue animals.

It took firefighters 16 minutes to reach the women who returned to the house, according to Myers. Attempts to resuscitate them were unsuccessful.

The woman with burns to her face was transported to York Hospital, then flown to Lehigh Valley Health Network Regional Burn Center. She is in critical condition, according to Myers. She had not been identified as of 5 p.m. Friday.

"I can't stress enough, it's so important. Once you have an emergency in your home, get out of the house, call 911 and stay out of the house," Myers said. "We all love our pets, but don't put yourself at risk."

A neighbor, Walter "Wally" Sandy, was in his bedroom, which faces the home, when he saw a light that he thought were car headlights. Soon he saw flames coming from the carport next door.

"It was quick," he said.

He called 911 and woke up his wife, Debbie, who went outside to help. They saw a woman in the doorway and with the help of another neighbor, dragged her way from the burning home. Debbie Sandy was later taken to York Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

"She kind of fell out the door," Walter Sandy said of the woman he, his wife and another neighbor dragged from the house.

He described the heat of the fire as "intense."

"It was pretty hot," he said. "There was a lot of fire."

Debbie Sandy said the woman they helped drag from the house had her face and hands blackened and she had a burn on her left arm.

"She kept saying, 'They went back in for the cats but didn't come out,'" Debbie Sandy said of the woman they helped.

The two women who perished in the fire never made it out of the basement of the small ranch-style home.

Walter Sandy said the woman who owned the home has lived there for more than 30 years. She has two cats and lost her husband of many years a couple of years ago.

"It's terrible. It's just terrible," he said. "They were good people. It's just sad."

State police fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.

Myers said his volunteer firefighters were pretty shaken. "We see a lot of bad things," he said.

(Shrewsbury Township) -- Two women were killed in a fire early Friday morning after going back inside their home to rescue pets, according to Chief Tony Myers of the Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company.

The fire was reported at 1:41 a.m. at a home on the first block of Foundry Road in Shrewsbury Township.

Police arrived on the scene first and found a woman outside the home with burns on her face, Myers said. Two other women had initially left the home, but went back inside to rescue animals.

It took firefighters 16 minutes to reach the women who went back inside the house, according to Myers. Attempts to resuscitate them were unsuccessful.

The woman with burns to her face was transported to York Hospital, then flown to Lehigh Valley Health Network Regional Burn Center. She is in critical condition, according to Myers.

"I can't stress enough, it's so important. Once you have an emergency in your home, get out of the house, call 911 and stay out of the house," Myers said. "We all love our pets, but don't put yourself at risk."

A neighbor, Walter "Wally" Sandy, was in his bedroom, which faces the home, when he saw a light that he thought were car headlights. Soon he saw flames coming from the carport next door.

"It was quick," he said.

He called 911 and woke up his wife, Debbie, who went outside to help. They saw a woman in the doorway and with the help of another neighbor, dragged her way from the burning home. Debbie Sandy was later taken to York Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

"She kind of fell out the door," Walter Sandy said of the woman he, his wife and another neighbor dragged from the house.

He described the heat of the fire as "intense."

"It was pretty hot," he said. "There was a lot of fire."

Debbie Sandy said the woman they helped drag from the house had her face and hands blackened and she had a burn on her left arm.

"She kept saying, 'They went back in for the cats but didn't come out,'" Debbie Sandy said of the woman they helped.

The two women who perished in the fire never made it out of the basement of the small ranch-style home.

Walter Sandy said the woman who owned the home has lived there for more than 30 years. She has two cats and lost her husband of many years a couple of years ago.

"It's terrible. It's just terrible," he said. "They were good people. It's just sad."

State police fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.

Myers said his volunteer firefighters were pretty shaken. "We see a lot of bad things," he said.

(Glen Rock) -- Two women were killed in a fire early Friday morning, according to Chief Tony Myers of the Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company.

The fire was reported at 1:41 a.m. at a home on the first block of Foundry Road in Shrewsbury Township.

Police arrived on the scene first and found a woman outside the home with burns on her face, Myers said. Two other women had initially left the home, but went back inside to rescue animals.

It took firefighters 16 minutes to reach the women who went back inside the house, according to Myers. Attempts to resuscitate them were unsuccessful.

The woman with burns to her face was transported to York Hospital, then flown to Lehigh Valley Network Regional Burn Center. She is in critical condition, according to Myers.

"I can't stress enough, it's so important. Once you have an emergency in your home, get out of the house, call 911 and stay out of the house," Myers said. "We all love our pets, but don't put yourself at risk."

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